Stuck in the Mud
by DonaldDouglasandToby6
Summary: Emily collects honey for The Vicar of Wellsworth, but gets stuck in some mud along the way to Brendam Docks.


it was a cold, stormy night at Tidmouth Sheds.

"This storm is looking pretty bad right now," said Toby worriedly, "I just hope we won't have any floods."

Emily was looking outside her shed too, watching the rain pour down to the ground.

A lightning bolt struck in the distance.

"Hopefully it'll stop in time for tomorrow," murmured Emily, "I don't want to have to clean up after _another _storm..."

"Right. Rocky will be rushed off his wheels," grinned Toby.

Emily yawned.

"Boy, I'm tired! Better get to sleep for tomorrow's work... I have a lot to do tomorrow."

So Emily closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, Emily woke up to find that most of the clouds had cleared, and that most of the engines had already left.

A few white, puffy clouds still lingered though.

She grinned as she looked at the now-blue sky.

"Heh, I guess I got my wish!" Emily chuckled.

Just as the Stirling Single had said this, the Fat Controller drove up to the sheds.

"Emily, I need you to go The Vicarage Orchard on the Brendam Branch Line. Trevor will be waiting to explain your job. I'm afraid I can't explain it right now; I have to help my wife at home."

"Yes sir." Emily whistled and she steamed away, glad to not have a job relating to cleaning up after the storm.

As she puffed along, she could see engines and cranes lifting things up and taking them away.

She grew a little worried as she puffed further on.

Soon, Emily arrived at the Vicarage Orchard and buffered up to some tankers.

"I wonder what these tankers are for..." she thought.

Trevor was waiting for Emily by the fence.

"There you are!" called Trevor gladly.

Emily looked to see the little traction engine.

"Hello Trevor! The Fat Controller sent me here. What is it I need to do?" Emily asked.

"We need you to deliver the honey to the Docks." explained Trevor, "The bees have been quite busy this year..."

Emily smiled.

"Of course, Trevor." and a workman coupled her up to the tankers full of honey.

Trevor suddenly remembered something, and whistled to get Emily's attention.

Emily looked over.

"What is it?" asked Emily worriedly.

"This is just a warning but be careful out there! You don't want to be stuck in the mud! All this mud's built up because of the recent storm. Once you get stuck in that stuff, it's almost impossible to get out!"

"I'll keep that in mind." replied Emily gravely and the guard blew his whistle, waved his green flag, and got into the brakevan.

Emily blew her whistle and set off on her journey.

Trevor frowned.

"I hope she took my warning to heart..."

The Stirling Single was having a wonderful journey along the Wellsworth branch line.

The birds flew above Emily, and trees branched over the line.

"Isn't the forest nice after a rainstorm? Everything looks so green and clean." observed Emily.

"Not to mention muddy... We best be careful, like Trevor said." added the driver.

Emily chuckled.

"Of course driver; I hadn't forgotten Trevor's warning that easily."

It was also a big mess; Emily saw Harvey up ahead on the other line, lifting broken branches, since a tree fell on the track during the night.

"Oh dear..." she said worriedly.

Emily puffed up beside Harvey.

"How long will that take?" she asked the crane engine.

Harvey sighed.

"A bit of a while, I'm afraid. This tree's rather... heavy..."

Emily felt a bit sorry for Harvey.

The tender engine soon steamed through Suddery and puffed past a signalbox.

She whistled "hello" to the signalman.

But she didn't get an answer.

"Hmm, must be busy," Emily said, "Oh well. Signalmen are busy people, after all."

But little did she know that the signalman had fallen asleep, since the storm had kept him awake all night, and that her whistling woke him up.

He opened an eye and suddenly realized he was still at his job.

The points weren't yet set to the Docks; instead they were sent to the Loop Line.

He ran out to the window and saw Emily heading down the wrong track.

"Oh no! Emily's not supposed to go down that way!" the signalman shouted and he rushed to a lever.

But it was too late; Emily was too far away to bring her back.

The Stirling Single looked around, a bit confused.

"This track isn't that familiar... Are you sure we're on the right line?" she asked.

"Yup. We'll be at Brendam in a few minutes," said her driver.

"If you say so..."

Emily approached some tracks that were completely covered with water and mud.

The rails were saggy, and couldn't take the weight of an engine.

Emily gasped.

"Driver, put the brakes on! We're about to get stuck in the-"

Before her driver could react, the rails sank and she splashed into the muddy water.

"...mud." groaned Emily.

Emily felt very miserable indeed.

The driver leaned out of the cab and groaned.

"I should've known we were on the wrong line! Ugh, why do those stupid signalmen always fall asleep?"

"Maybe he... had a long day?"

Then Emily remembered the honey.

"Oh dear! I hope it isn't spoiled..."

"We don't have time to worry about that; we're stuck, and we need help," said the driver firmly.

All of a sudden, a whistle was heard and a Great Western Pannier tank could be seen in the distance.

"Duck! Oh. thank goodness! Please, help me!"

Duck, who had just delivered a ballast train to Brendam, came to a halt.

He looked down and saw Emily.

"How did you get down there?" asked Duck.

"I was sent down the wrong track and then I got stuck. Can you help?"

"I don't think I can pull you back onto the rails..." Duck said sadly.

Emily sighed.

While the Great Western Engine knew he wasn't strong enough, he also knew that he couldn't just leave Emily stuck there.

Suddenly an idea flew into his head.

"I know!" called Duck, "I'll fetch Derek! He'll be strong enough to pull you back on the rails."

"Hurry! I think I'm sinking!" said Emily desperately.

Duck gasped and puffed off to Wellsworth; he knew this was a very urgent matter.

As the tank engine rounded a bend to Wellsworth, he could see Derek, who was delivering a goods run from Tidmouth to Brendam.

The Diesel was having a rest, since he had come a long way as it is.

Duck whistled loudly, startling Derek.

He squinted, looking forward to find the Pannier tank coming towards him on the other line.

"Derek! Derek!" panted Duck as he entered the station.

"Goodness Duck, what is it?" asked Derek worriedly as Duck screeched to a halt, "You're not usually this urgent."

"Derek, there's an emergency!"

"What kind of emergency?"

"Emily is stuck in the mud along the branch line!" explained Duck, "You're the only one who can help!'

Derek frowned.

"Oh dear, that's terrible! Except... well..."

"...well, what?" asked Duck..

"...I'm not really good at rescuing engines. My cooling system would overheat and then _I'd_ get stuck. That would be a bit of a pain in the bufferbeam, don't you think?"

Duck groaned impatiently.

"Forget your cooling system! You've got to rescue Emily!" cried Duck, "She's sinking into the mud!"

Derek stammered.

"O-oh... this must be urgent! Alright." muttered Derek and he left his trucks onto a siding.

"But if I overheat, you'd better come to the rescue!"

Duck sighed.

"...maybe."

"Good enough," said Derek.

Then he raced off to find Emily.

Duck grunted and set off for his branch line.

Back in the mud, Emily was struggling to puff out, but it was no good.

She started to panic.

"Help! Help!" wailed Emily and she blew her whistle as loud as the driver could make it.

The crew got out of the cab.

"What are we doing?" asked the fireman.

"To try and flag someone down." explained the driver.

They climbed onto the top of a honey tanker while the guard slowly walked along the train and got to the cab with the crew.

Together, they waved their arms as hard as they could and the guard blew his whistle.

A quarter of a mile away, Derek heard the frantic whistle and raced to the rescue.

As Derek came to a halt on Emily's line, he immediately gasped when he saw the Stirling Single's situation.

"Goodness me! What on Sodor happened to you?"

"I was sent down the wrong line and here I am in the sticky mud. Can pull me out please?"

Derek smiled weakly.

"Of course! As long as my engine doesn't overheat..."

Derek's driver attached a chain between the two engines.

"Ready?" asked Emily.

"Of course...I think." and Derek started to pull.

Derek heaved as hard as he could.

"*grunt* Come on! Come on! Oh, my system better not fail on me!"

Derek's wheels started to slip, so his sandboxes started to put sand on the rails.

"Almost... got... it..." he panted.

Suddenly his engine grew hot.

"Please...not...now," Derek said slowly.

"What do you mean?" asked Emily concernedly.

"My engine...it's...overheating." Derek said between breaths.

"Well, hurry then!" Emily cried out.

Derek honked his horn and pulled harder; he was determined to help his friend.

Emily felt her front wheels touch solid ground.

"You're doing it! You're doing it!" she cried in amazement.

Derek's engine got hotter, but he struggled.

The Diesel pulled as he had never pulled before.

"Almost... Yes!" Derek shouted, as he saw Emily was out of the mud.

Emily sighed with relief.

"Thanks, Derek."

"No problem." said Derek, "Now I better get my train. My engine's fine now."

Derek honked his horn and reversed back to the station.

"Well...I guess I have to pull my tankers out..." Emily said sadly.

Soon, the job was done and Emily raced off to the Docks, hoping the Fat Controller wouldn't be too cross.

As she puffed into Brendam, the Fat Controller had his hands on his hips.

"Emily, where were you this whole time?" asked the Fat Controller sternly.

Emily couldn't think of an answer; she was too flustered.

Luckily, her driver spoke up.

"Another signalman fell asleep, sir." replied Emily's driver, "The signalman sent us down the wrong line and we were sent into a muddy patch."

The Fat Controller blinked and sighed.

"Ugh, these signalmen... Oh well. I'll fire him in no time flat. Who rescued you though?"

A familiar horn sounded out as Derek pulled up.

"Ello sir! Not to be boastful, but I pulled her out." he said.

The Fat Controller chuckled.

"A fine piece of work Derek."

"Thank you sir," grinned Derek and he raced over to some China clay trucks.

The Fat Controller turned to Emily.

"Sorry Emily for quickly accusing you."

"It's not a problem sir. Duck helped me with the rescue sir. He deserves some credibility for the rescue." said Emily.

"I'll be sure to congratulate Duck too then." the Fat Controller said happily, "At least the delivery made it out okay."

Jeremy flew high above the Docks, heading for the airport.

The Fat Controller gulped.

"Uh oh... I better get to the Sodor Airport quickly. My mother's visiting from England. Sorry to leave so soon Emily, but you don't want to be late for family." and the Fat Controller rushed away to his car.

Emily sighed.

"Can I have a washdown now?" she pleaded.

"Well, we did have a long day. So I think so."

Emily whistled gratefully and puffed off to the Washdown.

As soon as she got there, the workmen started to clean her at once.

But the men had to work hard to get the mud off of Emily.

Emily sighed with content, just as James puffed alongside.

As soon as he noticed her paint, he burst into laughter.

"Well, hello there Emily. My, you look dirty today! I assume you played in the mud, hmm? I heard everything." he laughed.

Emily was embarrassed and quickly blushed.

"I'm going to go back to Tidmouth Sheds now," chuckled James, "I hope you don't mind me telling everybody. This is hilarious!"

Emily was so furious that she couldn't speak as James chuckled away.

Soon Emily was clean again.

"Well, the mud's all off now," said a workman, "You can go back to the shed."

"Yes sir," gulped Emily and she made her way back to the shed, preparing herself.


End file.
